


Let's Reschedule

by Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, M/M, at least I think so, telemarketer au, the author really hates her old job, the shipping is mild, this fic is an excuse to complain about it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 22:09:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18485386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination/pseuds/Of_Bunnies_and_Universal_Domination
Summary: In which Romano hates his job at a call center and the same number that keeps popping up.





	Let's Reschedule

**Author's Note:**

> So... this fic has been gathering dust on my laptop for a while so I decided I should just post at least the finished part of it. 
> 
> Terms:   
> Lackey/Gatekeeper - Someone who speaks to the telemarketer, who can either end the call or pass the call along to the potential customer.  
> Turnover/TO - When the telemarketer makes an excuse to the potential customer and hands the call over to a closer.  
> Closer - An experienced salesperson who actually gives the price quote and makes the deal.  
> Verifier - The one who calls the customer to confirm that the order and the shipping information is correct, or to cancel the order for a variety of reasons.

Romano hated his job, he really did. There were multiple reasons for that: waking up before down in order to be ready to catch the bus, clocking in and making calls by 6AM just so he could to speak to people on the East Coast at the beginning of _their_ business day, and being energetic enough to interact with people without the help of coffee (he’s been trying to cut back). The fact that his “clients” hate him with the fiery passion of a supernova didn’t help improve matters. This was understandable, considering he worked in the “promotional” department where he gave price quotes by phone to businesses all over the nation for a company that sells overpriced ~~and low quality~~ printer supplies. In other words, he was a telemarketer.  

His baby brother, Feliciano, was also a telemarketer. Difference between the brothers, however, was that people seemed to love Feliciano even as they’re telling him they weren’t interested or asking him to put them on the Do Not Call List. Hell, they even sound so damn apologetic that Feliciano had to reassure them that it was okay to say no to him. In fact, Feli was so great with people that he was already learning how to close his own deals, despite only being on the phone for a few weeks, meanwhile Romano struggled to get the minimum three deals a week.

Honestly, Romano was so worried about losing this job that he prayed every day before and during his shift that he won’t get fired at the end of the day. As good as Feli was at making deals, his paycheck alone wasn’t enough to pay the rent, and the job market being worse than shit made job hunting a daunting option.

 

**Monday**

“Again, I’m sorry I couldn’t get you that deal,” Maria, a closer, apologized as she hung up the headset. “The woman’s been burned before and didn’t want to risk it again. It was a good turnover though.” She gave him a pat on the shoulder before heading outside to enjoy the fresh air during the ten minute break.

“Whatever,” Romano muttered as he snacked on the only tomato that his plant managed to grow. He sighed; it was a good tomato, too bad the plant really sucked at growing more than one at a time.  But not even his favorite snack could improve his mood, with a morning of mostly answering machines, disconnected lines, and a private number that cussed him out for a minute straight before demanding to be put on the Do Not Call List as well as this failed turnover… Fuck his life; this had to be a sign that this week was going to suck.

“Fratello?”

Romano snapped out of his thoughts and turned to Feliciano. “What?”

“I’m sorry you didn’t get a deal, but it’s still early.” Feli gave Romano an encouraging smile. “I’m sure it’ll get better.”

Romano couldn’t look at his optimistic brother anymore and glared at the floor. “Sure, whatever you say,” he muttered half-heartedly.  

“It sounds like someone needs some more hug therapy!” Feli then pulled his big brother into a hug from behind. “It’ll gonna get better, Roma, you’ll see!”

Romano’s face flushed bright red and he struggled to get out of Feli’s surprisingly strong grip. “Idiota, let me go! Not in public!”

“Not until you feel better!”

Fortunately for Romano, Feliciano was forced to let him go when Arthur, the closer who ran the sales floor, shouted at them to get back to work. Feli seemed disappointed, but quickly got over it the moment he got hold of someone on the phone. Romano, on the other hand, was filled with dread when he saw the profile of his next call.

It was a familiar street name in a familiar zip code in his city. He’s called two businesses from that same street before and both times were certainly memorable.

The first business he called was a pet shop called _Gilbert’s Awesome Pet Shop and Supplies_. Gilbert Beilschmidt, the owner, had answered after the first ring and before Romano could say good morning, he immediately went on a monologue on how awesome he and his shop were. It went on for five minutes, with the loud sounds of barking and squawking animals in the background, but it felt like an eternity. Romano internally thanked God for sparing his ears from further torment the moment Gilbert finally paused long enough for him to speak. He greeted the loudmouthed man and introduced himself with no problem, but the moment he said the word “printer” there was a click and a second later a dial tone. Fuck Gilbert; just fuck him so hard for wasting his time and not even letting Romano finish his Goddamn sentence before hanging up on him!

The second business was a beauty salon, which was Romano’s least favorite type of business to call right after small medical clinics. A Frenchman answered the phone after two rings and actually allowed Romano to speak after saying hello. However, the telemarketer only got as far as introducing himself as “Lovino” (a call name that made the cussing outs easier to bear) when Francis interrupted. The French pervert cooed over how cute and young Romano sounded over line and how innocent he must still be in regards to certain life experiences. Romano was in shock. It wasn’t the first time he spoke to sleazy guys, but it was certainly the first time someone was so blatant! When the bastard went on to offer Romano a _hands on_ lesson in the ways of lovemaking, Romano instantly hung up and put the number on the Do Not Call List. His face was so red and his hands were shaking so hard, that it took him ten minutes to pull himself together enough to make another call. Looking back, Romano was ninety-five percent sure Francis freaked him out so badly on purpose. _Stronzo!_  

Now he wonders what fresh Hell awaits this time. Romano took a breath and dialed the new number. The phone rang once.

Twice.

Thrice.

Fo-

“Hola?”

Thank _Dio_! “ _Oh! Lo siento. No hablo Espanol._ ” A Spanish speaker, he could pass the call to-

“No worries. I speak English.”

Shit. Now Romano had to talk to him. With a sigh, he started from the top, “Good morning, this is Lovino from-“

“Hi Lovi!”

What the hell did this bastard just call him?! No, forget it. Just keep following the script. “Hi. The reason for my call is I’d like to speak to the person who handles your printer supplies.”

“That’s me, mi amigo.”

Romano forced a fake smile on his face (because apparently people can “hear” someone smile over the phone) and replied, “Great! I’m so, so glad I caught the big boss on the first try.”

The Spanish-speaking bastard then chuckled in amusement, “Boss, ey? I think I like the sound of that, Lovi.”

Romano didn’t bother to try to keep his eyes from rolling and continued, “I’m glad you do. Now may I know whom I’m speaking to?”

“Antonio, but you can call me Toni!”

Alright, Antonio is still friendly enough to give Romano a nickname despite it being obvious that he’s a telemarketer. Romano might just be able to get a TO out of this guy… “It’s nice to meet you, Toni. Well the reason for my call is-“

“Lo siento, mi amigo,” Antonio cut in. “I’m a bit busy today, can you call me back tomorrow?”

God damn it all. With more faked friendliness, Romano answered, “Oh, sure! Would the same time be fine for you?”

“Sí, gracias.”

“Okay…  You have a great day, Toni.”

“You too, Lovi!”

There was a click and the call was over. Romano sighed as he scheduled a callback for the next day. He doubted Antonio was even busy when he hung up. The bastard was probably looking up the number Romano used and could be reading all the damn customer complaints about the company.  Knowing his luck, “Toni” would pick up the phone when he called again just so he could yell at him for trying to scam him and Romano would end up feeling like shit for the rest of the day. Again. Whether he liked it or not, Romano could be just as sensitive as Feliciano.

He shook his head, needing to forget about the upcoming disaster so he could get back to work. Too bad the next five numbers he called turned out to be fax machines. Fuck, he was going to be deaf in a month at this rate!

 

**Tuesday**

It was break time again, and Feliciano was spending it with the uptight German office manager, Ludwig. Not that Romano cared; he _wanted_ to spend his break alone at his desk anyway. He closed his eyes and folded his arms on top of his desk to make a pillow for his aching head. The darkness helped ease the pain a little.

Unfortunately it was over all too soon when Alfred, the most experienced closer apart from Arthur, started declaring –loudly – that it was time to get back on the phones. Romano started to rub his eyes before pausing when he realized that Feli wasn’t trying to talk his ear before they got back to making calls. He opened his eyes and saw the desk to his left was still empty. The older brother looked around the room and spotted Feli instantly. His little brother was still talking to that macho jerk while hanging onto the German’s muscular arm. Romano frowned. He had been indifferent to his office manager the first week of work, but after a month, Romano found himself wishing that Ludwig would go choke on the homemade cake he enjoyed so much. Ever since Feliciano got the courage to start talking to Ludwig after being hired, he’s been doing all that he can to spend time with the stoic man, including forcing himself and Romano to take an even earlier bus just so he could greet “Luddy” when he unlocked the door to the office building.

Romano forced himself to turn back to his computer screen and immediately regretted it. There was Antonio’s number. With a groan, he dialed the number. Maybe Antonio would be nice about turning him down? Yeah, right.

Someone picked up after the first ring. “Hola!”

“Good morning, Toni, it’s-“

“Lovi! I was expecting your call,” Antonio greeted him enthusiastically.

Shit, he’s probably trying to get Romano to lower his guard. “I see… Is that a good thing?”

“Of course, Lovi!” The damn faker replied with a chuckle.

“Great…” Romano took a breath. “Um, Well the reason for my call is-“

At the same time Antonio spoke over him. “Lo siento Romano, pero no puedo hablar ahora.”

“I don’t speak Spanish, Toni.”

“Oh, right. Sorry, I was saying that I can’t really talk now. I was actually hoping you’d call me before 8:40 today.”

It was 8:35, but Romano didn’t mention it. Hopefully, this meant that Antonio wasn’t interested in speaking with him anymore. “It’s fine. It was nice ta-”

“Can you please call me back tomorrow?”

What. He’s joking, right? “Oh, sure…” Romano couldn’t even fake some enthusiasm for Antonio’s sake and he was all too aware of how miserable he sounded. “Same time?”

“Si!” 

 

**Wednesday**

“Hello, Toni. How are you this morning?”

“I’m doing pretty well, mi amigo. My plants are growing so many tomatoes and I can’t wait to harvest them!” Antonio answered enthusiastically and, oh wow; Romano could actually hear the smile on his face. Romano ended up listening to him ramble on about his tomato plants and even picked up a few tips on plant care until Antonio had to cut the call short due to a dentist appointment. Sure, whatever. He didn’t get a chance to ask him about his printer before the call ended, and yet this time Romano didn’t seem to mind so much.

 

**Thursday (the following week)**

“You’ve been in a good mood lately, fratello.”

Oh Dio, now Feli’s noticed that something’s going on with Romano.  He frowned. “So?”

“Nothing, nothing. You should be in a good mood. You got six deals in two days! We should celebrate! Maybe we can go to that nice restaurant you like downtown?”

“No, Feli. That place is too expensive.”

“But you get a bonus for every deal you get,” Feliciano pointed out.

“Yeah, but my deals haven’t been confirmed yet. They can still get canceled,” Romano muttered. “Besides we should be saving that money, just in case…”

  _Just in case you get fired._ Feli understood his brother’s pessimistic nature all too well. The younger brother took hold of Romano’s hand and gave him his most supporting smile. “Roma, you’re not going to lose this job. You’re doing better now, so relax. We’re going to be okay.”

He felt the corner of mouth twitch up in response to his fratellino’s bright smile; unfortunately the moment was ruined by someone clearing their throat. The brothers were startled and saw it was Ludwig who interrupted them. 

“Ciao, Luddy!” Feli instantly greeted while Romano scowled and demanded, “What do you want?”

Ludwig himself simply nodded at Feli before turning to Romano. “The front office wants to see you. Right now.”


End file.
